Name Hindi: श्रीनिवास वेंकटराघवन / Gender Man
Srinivas Venkataraghavan – Iconic Cricket Player
Born on April 21, 1945, Srinivas Venkataraghavan is an iconic figure in the world of cricket. An Indian former cricketer and current cricket umpire, he was a part of the famous Indian spin quartet that included E.A.S Prasanna, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, and Bishen Singh Bedi.
Early Life and Career Beginning
Srinivas Venkataraghavan, commonly known as ‘Venkat’, originally hailed from Chennai (formerly Madras), India. He fell in love with cricket at a young age before turning it into his career. Srinivas took the leap towards serious competitive sport when he made his debut for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy during the 1964-65 season and never looked back since then.
Career Highlights
- In 1971, Srinivas led the Indian team to their first ever Test Series win over England.
- He had a successful stint as captain serving twice between 1974 to 1979 where he won five tests out of which four were against Australia itself.
- Venkataraghavan played 57 test matches for India scoring more than 500 runs and taking 156 wickets during his tenure.
- In addition to this, he also played One Day Internationals (ODI’s) where he represented India in ten occasions.
Life beyond Playing
Venkataraghavan marked his second inning after retiring from professional cricket as an international umpire. His career highlight as an umpire was during the 1996 and 1999 Cricket World Cups.
- He had a long and illustrious career as an umpire standing in 73 Tests and 52 ODIs between 1993 to 2004.
- Venkataraghavan also served as an entire series referee during the famous Australia vs England Ashes Test Series in 1998/99.
Awards and Recognitions
In recognition of his contribution to Indian cricket, Venkataraghavan received several awards throughout his career which includes:
- ‘Padma Shri’ by Government of India,
- The ‘Star Club of India Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his prolonged contributions to cricket both as a player and an umpire
Srinivas Venkataraghavan, without doubt, has held a crucial role in shaping Indian cricket history. He will always be remembered among the stalwarts who gave the world-class cricketing era from India its joint genesis.
